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'I consider myself a survivor': 36-year-old woman home after weeks in hospital with COVID-19

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Updated: 7:28 AM PDT Apr 11, 2020

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THIS WOMAN WAS NEBRASKA’S FIRST COVID-19 PATIENT. THE 36-YEAR-OLD OMAHA WOMAN SPENT NEARLY A MONTH IN THE HOSPITAL AND TODAY SHE STILL HAS A FEEDING TUBE. KETV NEWSWATCH 7’S SARAH FILI HAS THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIE SARAH: RALPH AND HIS DAUGHTER EMMA LEFT OMAHA IN LATE FEBRUARY, TRAVELING OVERSEAS FOR A CELEBRATION. >> WE WENT TO ENGLAND. IT WAS MY DAD’S 100TH BIRTHDAY. WE CELEBRATED IT. SARAH: WHEN THEY CAME BACK, EMMA PLAYED IN A SPECIAL OLYMPICS BASKETBALL GAME IN FREMONT. >> I GOT HIT BY THE BASKETBALL BY ONE OF THE OTHER PLAYERS AND THAT’S WHEN IT STARTED TO SET OFF MY MIGRAINE. SARAH: BECAUSE OF THOSE MIGRAINES, RALPH TOOK EMMA TO THE HOSPITAL FIVE TIMES. THE LAST TIME, A DOCTOR NOTICED AN INFECTION IN HER LUNGS. EMMA WAS TESTED FOR COVID-19. IT WAS POSITIVE, MARKING NEBRASKA’S FIRST CASE. >> THE LAST VISION I HAD OF HER WAS LOOKING THROUGH THE BACK OF THE AMBULANCE GOING IN. AND I NEVER KNEW IF THAT WOULD BE THE LAST TIME. SARAH: EMMA WAS IN CRITICAL CONDITION FOR WEEKS. >> THEY TOOK HER AND THEN I DIDN’T HAVE ANY CONTACT WITH HER FOR ABOUT THREE WEEKS BECAUSE SHE WAS CONTINUALLY SEDATED, INTUBATED. AND THEY JUST TOLD ME EVERY SINGLE DAY, ITS MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. WE DON’T KNOW IF SHE’S GOING TO GO THIS WAY OR THAT WAY. SARAH: SLOWLY, SHE RECOVERED. >> WE STARTED DOING VIDEO CALLS. THAT WAS A PRETTY BIG MOMENT. SARAH: SHE FINALLY WENT HOME SATURDAY. EMMA STILL HAS A FEEDING TUBE, AND HAS ONE MORE TEST BEFORE SHE’S OFFICIALLY CLEAR OF THE VIRUS. STILL, THERE’S PLENTY TO BE THANKFUL FOR. >> EACH DAY IS A GOD-SENT MIRACLE AND I CONSIDER MYSELF A SURVIV

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'I consider myself a survivor': 36-year-old woman home after weeks in hospital with COVID-19

A 36-year-old woman is back home after spending weeks in the hospital with COVID-19. She said she’s grateful to be alive.Ralph and his daughter Emma left Omaha in late February and traveled overseas for a celebration.“We went to England. It was my dad's 100th birthday. We celebrated it,” Ralph said. Sister station KETV is not reporting the family’s last name to protect their identity.When the father and daughter returned, Emma played in a Special Olympics basketball game in Fremont."I got hit (in the head) by the basketball by one of the other players and that's when it started to set off my migraine, “Emma said.Because of those migraines, Ralph took Emma to the hospital five times. The last time, a doctor noticed an infection in her lungs. Emma was tested for COVID-19 in early March. The test came back positive, marking Nebraska’s first case. She was rushed to the biocontainment unit at Nebraska Medicine.“The last vision I had of her was looking through the back of the ambulance going in. And I never knew if that would be the last time (I would see her),” Ralph said.Emma was in critical condition for weeks. Ralph said Emma has had respiratory issues since she was a baby and that contributed to the disease."I didn’t have any contact with her for about three weeks because she was continually sedated, intubated, and they just told me every single day, 'It's middle of the road, we don’t know if she's going to go this way or that way,'” Ralph said.Slowly, she recovered. ‘We started doing video calls. That was a pretty big moment,” Ralph said.She finally went home Saturday. Emma still has a feeding tube and is not yet officially clear of the virus.Still, there's plenty to be thankful for."Each day is a God sent miracle and I consider myself a survivor,” Emma said. Ralph said his daughter didn't show any symptoms before she went to the hospital in March.He said he also tested positive, but only had a temperature for one day, adding that the virus can impact people very differently.Ralph said they also still don't know where they got sick, since relatives at the birthday party all tested negative.He encourages people to be careful and to stay home."Do what everybody says. It's hell to go through it when you’ve got a relative, especially a daughter and you don’t know if you've seen them for the last time,” Ralph said.

A 36-year-old woman is back home after spending weeks in the hospital with COVID-19.

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She said she’s grateful to be alive.

Ralph and his daughter Emma left Omaha in late February and traveled overseas for a celebration.

“We went to England. It was my dad's 100th birthday. We celebrated it,” Ralph said.

Sister station KETV is not reporting the family’s last name to protect their identity.

When the father and daughter returned, Emma played in a Special Olympics basketball game in Fremont.

"I got hit (in the head) by the basketball by one of the other players and that's when it started to set off my migraine, “Emma said.

Because of those migraines, Ralph took Emma to the hospital five times.

The last time, a doctor noticed an infection in her lungs. Emma was tested for COVID-19 in early March. The test came back positive, marking Nebraska’s first case. She was rushed to the biocontainment unit at Nebraska Medicine.

“The last vision I had of her was looking through the back of the ambulance going in. And I never knew if that would be the last time (I would see her),” Ralph said.

Emma was in critical condition for weeks. Ralph said Emma has had respiratory issues since she was a baby and that contributed to the disease.

"I didn’t have any contact with her for about three weeks because she was continually sedated, intubated, and they just told me every single day, 'It's middle of the road, we don’t know if she's going to go this way or that way,'” Ralph said.

Slowly, she recovered.

‘We started doing video calls. That was a pretty big moment,” Ralph said.

She finally went home Saturday. Emma still has a feeding tube and is not yet officially clear of the virus.

Still, there's plenty to be thankful for.

"Each day is a God sent miracle and I consider myself a survivor,” Emma said.